Arena Names 20-Player Roster as U.S. Men Begin Final Preparations for March 28 Match in Honduras
CHICAGO (Tuesday, March 20, 2001) - United States Men's National Team head coach Bruce Arena has selected 20 players to represent the USA when the team takes on Honduras in its first road World Cup qualifier of the final round on March 28, 2001. That match, which will kick off at 8:30 p.m.
March 20, 2001
The U.S. squad, split between Major League Soccer stars and European-based professionals, will begin training together in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, on Wednesday, March 21. Nine of the 20 players currently play with MLS clubs, while the balance play professionally in Europe.
Among the notable players included in the roster is 22-year-old defender Steve Cherundolo, who returns to the squad for the first time since suffering a devastating knee injury while training with his German club team, Hannover 96, last season. Cherundolo made his first, and only, international appearance against Jamaica in a friendly match in October 1999.
Also selected for the team was goalkeeper Kasey Keller, who makes his return to the squad for the first time since posting a shutout against Costa Rica in semifinal qualifying action on October 11, 2000. Keller, 31, will battle Brad Friedel for the starting spot against Honduras.
"The next nine qualifying games are going to be a real battle," said Arena. "We need to continue to work towards securing a spot in the World Cup, and this roster puts us in a position to go to Honduras and earn valuable points. It's a long stretch of games, but I think we're ready for the challenge."
The United States opened the final qualifying round on February 28, handing Mexico a 2-0 defeat and jumping to the top spot in the six-team group. The Honduras match will be the first of five road qualifiers the United States will play in the ten-game final qualifying stage. Each team in the group will play home and away against the other five teams, with the top three moving on to the 2002 World Cup in Korea/Japan.
Following the match at Olympic Stadium in San Pedro Sula, Honduras, the United States will meet Costa Rica at Kansas City's Arrowhead Stadium on April 25 in its next World Cup qualifier. Complete and updated coverage of the United States' road to World Cup 2002 can be found at www.us-soccer.com. Rosters, game summaries, schedules and standings, as well as ticket information and player bios are available from the website.
The match in Honduras marks the first time in U.S. Soccer history that a World Cup qualifying game has been available to fans via pay-per-view. (Note: Prior to qualifying for the 2002 World Cup began, only one U.S. road qualifier had ever been on English language TV without commercial interruption - the U.S. at Canada at the conclusion of 1998 qualifying. Altogether, 14 of 16 U.S. 2002 World Cup qualifying matches are currently slated for English-language TV on either ABC, ESPN or ESPN2, an impressive improvement over the 9 out of 16 qualifying matches which aired on ABC, ESPN or ESPN2 during 1998 qualifying.)
| United States Men's National Team Roster vs. Honduras March 28, 2001 Estadio Olympico - San Pedro Sula, Honduras | |||||||
| Name | Pos. | Ht. | Wt. | Birthdate | Caps/G* | Hometown | Club* |
| Agoos, Jeff | D | 5'10" | 175 | 05/02/68 | 107/3 | Dallas | S.J. Earthquakes (MLS) |
| Armas, Chris | M | 5'7" | 150 | 08/27/72 | 26/2 | Brentwood, N.Y. | Chicago Fire (MLS) |
| Berhalter, Gregg | D | 6'1" | 175 | 08/01/73 | 18/0 | Tenafly, N.J. | Crystal Palace (England) |
| Cherundolo, Steve | D | 5'6" | 145 | 02/19/79 | 1/0 | San Diego, Calif. | Hannover 96 (Germany) |
| Donovan, Landon | F | 5'8" | 148 | 03/04/82 | 4/1 | Redlands, Calif. | Bayer Leverkusen (Germany) |
| Friedel, Brad | GK | 6'4" | 202 | 05/18/71 | 67/0 | Bay Village, Ohio | Blackburn Rovers (England) |
| Jones, Cobi | M | 5'7" | 145 | 06/16/70 | 138/14 | Westlake Village, Calif. | Los Angeles Galaxy (MLS) |
| Keller, Kasey | GK | 6'2" | 190 | 11/29/69 | 46/0 | Lacey, Wash. | Rayo Vallecano (Spain) |
| Lewis, Eddie | M | 5'10" | 155 | 05/17/74 | 27/2 | Cerritos, Calif. | Fulham FC (England) |
| Llamosa, Carlos | D | 5'11" | 166 | 06/30/69 | 18/0 | Maspeth, N.Y. | Miami Fusion (MLS) |
| Mathis, Clint | M/F | 5'10" | 170 | 11/25/76 | 8/2 | Conyers, Ga. | NY/NJ MetroStars (MLS) |
| McBride, Brian | F | 6'1" | 170 | 06/19/72 | 47/14 | Arlington Heights, Ill. | Columbus Crew (MLS) |
| Pope, Eddie | D | 6'1" | 180 | 12/24/73 | 39/4 | High Point, N.C. | D.C. United (MLS) |
| Razov, Ante | F | 6'1" | 175 | 03/02/74 | 13/4 | Whittier, Calif. | Racing de Ferrol (Spain) |
| Regis, David | D | 5'11" | 160 | 12/02/68 | 16/0 | Valenciennes, France | FC Metz (France) |
| Reyna, Claudio | M | 5'9" | 160 | 07/20/73 | 79/8 | Springfield, N.J. | Glasgow Rangers (Scotland) |
| Sanneh, Tony | D/M | 6'2" | 190 | 06/01/71 | 17/1 | St. Paul, Minn. | Hertha Berlin (Germany) |
| Stewart, Earnie | M/F | 5'9" | 145 | 03/28/69 | 65/11 | Point Arena, Calif. | NAC Breda (Holland) |
| Williams, Richie | M | 5'5" | 145 | 06/03/70 | 15/0 | Middletown, N.J. | NY/NJ MetroStars (MLS) |
| Wolff, Josh | F | 5'8" | 160 | 02/25/77 | 6/2 | Stone Mountain, Ga. | Chicago Fire (MLS) |
| Team Staff | ||
| Head Coach | Bruce Arena | Fairfax, Va. |
| Assistant Coach | Dave Sarachan | Ashburn, Va. |
| Goalkeeper Coach | Milutin Soskic | Bakersfield, Calif. |
| General Manager | Pam Perkins | Evanston, Ill. |
| Athletic Trainers | Jim Hashimoto | Wilmington, Del. |
| Dave Andrews | Seattle, Wash. | |
| Equipment Manager | Aaron Barrett | Chicago |
| Director of Security | Gene Williams | New York |
| Press Officer | Rich Schneider | Chicago |
